In Light Of Love
by PookyTart
Summary: Mid-season 6.  Castiel has fallen in love and it is up to Bobby, Dean and Sam to help him protect her from the evil that is coming their way.
1. Chapter 1

Dean stood at the cliff's edge, his gaze fixed off in the distance as he thought about the past few days. He certainly hadn't been expecting the events that had come to pass, though they did seem to confirm a few beliefs he had been pondering. His mind wandered back to Anna and the night of passion that they both had shared. He didn't know why he had thought male angels would be different from their female counterparts. Anna had been just as in to him as he had been into her. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that she had enjoyed the coupling. So he couldn't help but question why it was that he would find the idea of Castiel being with someone a little preposterous.

It wasn't like Cas ever gave him any reason to think he would get involved. The fact that his chosen "fling" was with a human woman just made it all the more unreal. If Dean hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed it. He had to give kudos to the angel, though. Arianna wasn't exactly the type that Dean would have gone for, but she wasn't a frilly innocent either. At little more than five feet four, she was a petite little strawberry blonde that didn't take crap from no one. That wasn't to say she was outspoken and rude, on the contrary she was mostly the quiet type. She never said anything rashly and always thought her answers out thoroughly before she gave you her full opinion. The thing that Dean liked the most about her was the intensity of her eyes. They were a stormy blue ringed in charcoal. When Ari looked at you her gaze demanded your full attention.

As Dean continued to brood over the newest addition to their dysfunctional family, the nearly inaudible sound of flapping announced Castiel's arrival. By now Dean was quite used to his friend just popping in without any word of warning. He turned to glance over his shoulder and came face to face with the Lord's servant. "Hello, Dean."

Castiel had never been a creature of many words. He never minced things and always spoke what was on his mind with a cool and calculated efficiency. Dean licked his lips briefly before he spoke in a quiet voice. "Is she resting?" Cas nodded as his features melted into a look of concern. "Yes." The angel didn't seem to want to elaborate, but Dean prodded him. "Does she remember anything?" Both of them stood quietly for a long moment, the elder Winchester could tell that this whole thing was bothering his friend. "Cas," he said in as soothing a voice as he could muster. "What does she know? If there is anything that can help us...well...I'm all ears." Castiel drew in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.

"Dregan knows everything. He knows why she was chosen and he knows what she is carrying." Just the admission of these facts caused a heaviness to settle over the angel's heart. All of this was his fault, or so he believed. He should have never left Ari unattended. In his defense, he had begged her to stay with Sam and Dean. When she had turned him down over that matter, he had pleaded with her to move in temporarily with Bobby, knowing that the young woman had taken to him as a daughter would a father. No matter what he said, though, Arianna declined and insisted that she would be just fine on her own. Now, her stubbornness had cost her, and in turn it had cost them all. Cas fell into silence as he sought a way to make reparations for the mess that they were currently in.

Dean turned to face his friend, his head lowering as he gazed up into the angel's distraught face. "It's not the end of the world, Cas. Didn't you pull a whammy on the guy and trap him in his meat suit?" Castiel's thoughts drifted briefly to the encounter they had all had with Dregan. The only good thing that had come out of it had been the binding. "Yes," Cas muttered, his gruff voice lowering more in tone than usual. "But that isn't going to hold him forever, Dean. And, if he manages to find another demon before we find him, then Dregan will be the least of our worries." The look on Cas' face caused Dean to grimace. He knew the angel was silently admonishing himself for something he really had not ever had control over. "Don't sweat it," the elder Winchester said. "We'll find the guy and Jimmy Hoffa his ass."

Though Cas didn't understand the reference, the tone of his friend's voice helped to put him somewhat at ease. He nodded his reply to Dean and then disappeared with the near silent flap of his wings. For some reason this always surprised the hunter and left him a little on edge. He took a quick glance at his surroundings, then muttered with a hint of sarcasm. "You're welcome."


	2. Chapter 2

Sam pulled the blanket down away from Arianna's back, his frown deepening at the sight before him. Castiel stewed quietly, uncomfortable with exposing even that much of the woman's skin to anyone but himself. The younger Winchester brother didn't seem to notice and instead went about studying the symbol that had been carved into her flesh. "Why aren't the wounds healing," Sam muttered curiously. When the angel remained quiet, Sam pulled his gaze away and looked up to find Cas brooding deeply. The angel's lips pursed as he considered the question. When he answered, his normally gruff voice had filled with a hint of anger. "Whatever weapon he used, it was infused with a demon's curse." Castiel's head canted to the side briefly as he explored every inch of damaged skin. When he spoke again, the anger in his voice was replaced with intense sorrow. "If I try to heal her, she will die."

Sam drew in a sharp breath and looked back down to the carved circular sigil. It was definitely Enochian, he had seen it a couple of times before. It was the same symbol that had been used before to send various angels back to heaven against their will. The thing was a powerful banishment tool. It bothered the younger man to see it on Ari's skin. "Can I bandage the wounds, Cas? Do you think that might help?"

Castiel drew up to a straight stance, his jaw clenching lightly. He knew that Sam only wanted to help, but deep down he knew he would never allow anyone to touch Arianna again. "No," he said gruffly, "I will see what can be done." The angel lowered himself down to sit beside the sleeping woman. Sam, feeling a little out of place, stood up quietly and moved a couple of steps away. The younger Winchester crossed his muscled arms over his chest and scowled, but said nothing. He knew what Ari meant to his friend. Sam watched as Cas pulled the cover back up over the resting woman's form and then looked into the angel's eyes as he turned to face him.

"We have more pressing matters at the moment," Cas said quietly. "If Dregan gets out of this city and finds another demon..." He let the issue hang in the air between them for a moment before he continued. "We must stop him, Sam." The hunter nodded thoughtfully as he considered his friend's words. Sam's hand lifted as he spoke, moving occasionally with every changing idea. "Alright," he began, "we could try tracking him from the warehouse." It had been the last place they had seen Dregan before the demon had given them the slip. "Maybe," Sam said, "he didn't get far at all. There were other buildings around there." Castiel paused briefly to consider this, then shook his head. "No, I would have sensed him." That did little to dissuade Sam's thinking that maybe the demon would be that easy to locate. Cas' eyes met Sam's so that the younger man would understand why he knew Dregan was not near the original meeting point, his gaze filled with intensity as he spoke. "He wants nothing more than to put as much space between us and him as possible. He knows what I will do to him, what I *must* do to him, in order to protect them." Cas' hand pointed back toward Ari and the secret that he was fighting to protect. Precious few people knew. Sam and Dean were amongst them.

"Ok, look," Sam said lightly, "we can find him. We're going to find him, Cas. Dean and I...we'll canvas the warehouse grounds for clues. I mean, the guy is trapped in his body, so, he has to have footprints, right? He was bleeding, too." The angel considered this for a moment before he stood up abruptly. "Yes, perhaps you are right." Castiel walked over toward Sam and stopped right in front of him. "Wait here," he said simply, then vanished. The hunter sighed quietly as he looked over toward where Arianna was resting. He had a pretty good idea of where his friend was going.

When Castiel returned abruptly with Bobby in tow, Sam's assumption proved right. He looked to the older man and offered him a half smile. "Hey." The utter look of surprise on Bobby's face told Sam that the angel had not asked him to come along, but had simply brought him without warning. It only took a moment before the elder hunter shook off the shock. "When the hell did you start abducting people?" Sam lifted both hands as he shrugged, letting his friend know that it had not been his idea. Cas stepped forward and spoke directly to Bobby. "We're going after the demon." The angel paused as he looked down to the sleeping woman. He lifted a hand and brushed it tenderly over the smooth strands of Ari's hair, then looked back into Bobby's eyes. "Will you stay with her...please?" It wasn't like the angel to beg, but even the elder hunter knew what the woman meant to him. Bobby frowned slightly but nodded his head. He turned his back on the other two and set his attentions upon the girl on the bed. His voice was still easily heard by Sam and Cas. "You just get the sonofabitch."

Castiel looked to Sam just as Sam looked to him. They both nodded to each other. Cas raised his fingers and pressed them to the younger Winchester's forehead. In the blink of an eye, they were both gone and on their way to fetch Dean. 


	3. Chapter 3

The Impala's tires squealed in protest as Dean rounded the street corner at break-neck speed. The scowl that had settled on the elder Winchester's face seemed to speak volumes on just how mad he was. The hunter glanced into the rear view mirror, checking on what was going on in the back seat. "How is he," he growled in a quiet voice. Sam looked up from Castiel's limp form, blood stained the younger brother's cheek where he had wiped sweat from his eyes. "Not good. Dean...what the hell was that back there?" The fear that had flooded his younger sibling's voice made Dean all the more angry. "I don't know, Sam," he muttered irritably.

Cas coughed faintly, a dribble of red oozing from the corner of his mouth. When the angel didn't open his eyes, Sam's brow furrowed deeply. "Castiel. Hold on!" The situation looked pretty dire to the younger man. He ripped off a strip of his shirt and used the material to mop up the angel's blood. From the front seat Dean cursed heatedly. "What the hell? Hang on!" Sam knew that Dean meant for him to do the hanging. The hunter grabbed hold of Cas with one hand and braced himself against the roof of the car with the other. Rubber screeched in complaint as the car swerved so sharply that it nearly rose up onto its two right side tires. Dean's hands clenched tightly to the wheel as he steered it expertly out of the dangerous turn. The back end fish-tailed for several seconds before launching forward once more. In the rear view Dean caught a glimpse of what had caused him to take such evasive action. The creature stood in the shadows glaring after them, its hulking shoulders rising and falling with each savagely taken breath.

"We need to get back to the room," Dean said. Sam nodded quietly as he turned to look out the back window. "We'd better lose Paul Bunyon first," the younger brother replied. The elder hunter didn't need to be told twice, so he mashed his foot down on the accelerator and began to put some space between them and their adversary. Castiel moaned painfully as another rivulet of blood burbled forth. Sam placed a large hand against his friend's chest, covering the wound that was causing so much trouble. With his other hand he wiped Cas' mouth with the makeshift rag. It infuriated him that they had walked so blindly into Dregan's trap. As Dean drove like a maniac through the deserted streets, Sam went over everything that had come to pass in his mind as he sought for some explanation on what had happened. From the moment they had arrived at the deserted warehouse, the younger hunter had felt as if something was terribly wrong. He had tried to warn Dean and Cas, but they had assured him that the only way to find the demon they hunted was to revisit the last place they'd seen him.

The open space of the warehouse had done little to banish the reek of the sulfur that always remained behind as a result of demonic possession. On top of that smell, the coppery tang of blood could still be made out. All three men had blanched because they knew the blood had come from Arianna. Congealed puddles of the red fluid were scattered all around the center room. Cas ground his teeth together in anger, picturing the wounds that were the results of such carnage. The three of them had spread out to look for clues on where their quarry might have fled. That was when Dean found the makeshift totem. He alerted the other two, who quickly came to investigate. It was at that point that a loud, crashing noise came from the far end of the warehouse. The angel had stepped up before the brothers, his penetrating blue gaze staring off toward the trouble heading their way. Sam remembered feeling the hair on his arms raise when Cas's voice spoke two little words. "Not good."

The creature had come at them with fists blazing. It literally looked like a behemoth of a man made out of molten lava. The three of them scattered as the thing attacked. The following battle was something of a blur to Sam. He remembered Dean shooting the thing full of buckshot. When that hadn't even phased the monster, Sam had done the only thing he could think of and stabbed the creature between the shoulder blades with the demon-killing knife. He'd never felt so much pain in his entire life as he had the moment the steel connected. It had felt like his arm had burned off clear to the shoulder, which in turn had caused him to release the dagger's hilt. Even now, as they fled, the weapon still protruded from the thing's back. Sam barely remembered waking up on the cold stone floor and watching as Castiel slammed both fists into the center of the hulking beast's chest. The utter look of surprise on the angel's face had made the younger brother clamber to his knees, but not in time to stop the monster from reciprocating Cas' attack. One fiery fist slammed full force into the heavenly servant's chest, narrowly missing his heart. A spray of blood flew from Castiel's mouth before he slumped forward.

What happened next, Sam wasn't exactly sure. He knew that Dean had come forward and helped him up and he recalled that his brother had thrown an entire flask of holy water over the protruding arm of the magma man in desperation. The creature had screamed in fury as it pulled away, giving the two hunters enough time to gather Cas up and high tail it out of the warehouse. Now they were running for their lives.

Dean looked into the mirror, his green eyes catching Sam's briefly. The two of them shared a moment of concern. The younger brother looked down to Castiel and sighed in silent frustration. At least the blood had stopped oozing from the corner of his friend's mouth. Sam wasn't sure how quickly angels healed, but he hoped that it was fast. "We're gonna need help, Dean." The elder hunter didn't answer, but he knew that Sam was right. They couldn't just leave that creature to roam the city streets and with Cas injured they were seriously out of their league. It was time to call in a favor. 


End file.
